Educational Program Encourages Discussion and Action to End Food Crisis

New
York, NY; October 31, 2011—American Jewish World
Service (AJWS), an international development and human rights
organization, has enlisted over 100 synagogues, 20 college groups and dozens of
homes across the U.S. to participate in its 2nd annual Global Hunger
Shabbat on November 4-5. A weekend of nationwide solidarity, learning and
reflection around food justice, Global Hunger Shabbat offers Jews the
opportunity to discuss the current food crisis and ways they can help end it.

“Global
Hunger Shabbat allows Jews of all ages and denominations to collaboratively
explore the root causes of hunger and encourages them to tackle these issues
head on,” said AJWS vice president for programs, Aaron Dorfman. “Taking time
for this conversation on Shabbat, when food is such an integral part of Jewish
tradition, brings our values into dialogue with this critical issue in a
powerful way.”

Earlier
this month, AJWS announced its new Reverse Hunger campaign,
an initiative to rally the American Jewish community to change U.S. food and
agriculture policies—which the organization believes are major contributors to
global hunger. This year’s Global Hunger Shabbat is part of the campaign and
provides participants with resources about the U.S. Farm Bill and its impact on
food prices and the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in developing countries.
As Congress prepares to reauthorize the Farm Bill in 2012, AJWS is calling on
the Jewish community to seize this opportunity to band together and push
lawmakers to reform key aspects of the legislation that address food aid. The
organization maintains that these misguided policies not only delay the arrival
of lifesaving food aid, but also perpetuate a cycle of dependence for
developing nations.

“Jews
must unite now to urge Congress to create a just food system that reflects our
tradition’s vision and values,” said AJWS president Ruth Messinger. “With 900
million people suffering from hunger and the Farm Bill up for revision next
year, the time is ripe for Jews to usher in lasting change. Join us for Global
Hunger Shabbat to educate yourself about this crisis and feel empowered to do
something about it.”

To
help individuals, congregations and communities host Global Hunger Shabbat
events, AJWS created an online toolkit (available here), which includes:

A sample sermon on hunger

Readings for use around the
Shabbat table to learn about communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America
that are developing innovative solutions to hunger

Activities and discussion guides
for various audiences and ages

Jewish text studies related to
global hunger

A prayer for the world’s hungry

Talking points about food
insecurity and aid, along with a reading list on these topics

Suggestions for ways that American
Jews can take action to end hunger

Immediately
following Global Hunger Shabbat, AJWS
will encourage participants to complete 18 Days of Action leading up to
Thanksgiving. Each day, AJWS will prompt participants over e-mail to take an
action that will contribute to the fight against hunger and the campaign to
reform the Farm Bill. Every e-mail will include an action that takes three
minutes or less as well as a suggestion on how to increase and deepen one’s
impact. Throughout the 18 days, AJWS will ask individuals to sign “The Jewish
Petition for a Just Farm Bill” (www.ajws.org/reversehunger).